


Gauntlets

by anesor



Series: Star Wars Snippets [11]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: AU, M/M, Soul Bond, amateur rock climbing oops, teaching - cycle of life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-14
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-30 10:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21426613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anesor/pseuds/anesor
Summary: Ahsoka asks her markless Master about that urban legend about soul bonds and Jedi.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker
Series: Star Wars Snippets [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/930086
Comments: 8
Kudos: 264
Collections: Shadows of the Saber (NaNo 2019 Star Wars short fiction collection)





	Gauntlets

Obi-Wan liked to complain that Anakin lacked focus.

Tru once said  _ his _ Master said the same, and he spent far more effort to look like a perfect Padawan. Anakin heard another Padawan grumble the same in the public sparring area, so Anakin had always suspected that might be in some training manual for new Masters.

It wasn’t like he’d gotten some super-secret training manual when he got a Padawan.

He was forced to admit there was no manual feeding this advice when he easily noted Ahsoka’s attention flickered away during a spar. 

Stopping their sparring for a break, he weighed how to say it without sounding like Obi-Wan. Couldn’t have that.

His water bottle was empty well before he came up with anything. The only thing that kept springing to mind was that battle droids would easily take advantage of that lapse.

“Padawan, you lose focus in a fight and battle droids won’t hesitate to take advantage. They don’t get tired, they don’t feel pain. In a big fight they can network their attacks to pound even harder if their processors aren’t overloaded.”

Her lekku swayed, curling in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, Master. I won’t do it again?”

Anakin remembered as an echo saying the same. “What was so important about those other Padawans that you focused on them instead?”

“Lo-Nomt was showing off a soul mark, Master...” She sounded doubtful about something that seemed more urban legend than real.

Those marks were one thing the Council always seemed ambivalent about to Anakin. He’d heard they were more likely to appear nearer to human, and those with soul-marks weren’t just permitted friendship under the Code, but that the Force blessed the bond.

“I don’t have one either, Snips. That’s fine, _we_ have the freedom to choose anyone we want to be friends with.” He projected assurance to her.

“Like you and a certain beautiful Senator?” She smirked only a little upward to meet his eyes. 

Choking and sputtering, Anakin managed to nod. “We met before I was even a Padawan. She doesn’t have a soul mark either.”

“Skyguy, is it true that Padawans aren’t usually knighted until they’re sure we don’t have a mark?”

“I don’t think it works that way, Snips. It’s the younger soul mate’s coming of age that makes them appear, and that’s probably a good thing. Some religions try to trigger Foresight to prevent mistakes in ranking marriages, other worlds like on Hutt worlds prevent marriage in general. For all we know, a mark could appear on Master Windu’s head tomorrow.” Anakin grinned at the thought of a colorful mark on the… dour man’s head.

Ahsoka giggled. “Your cheek would be funny too.”

Anakin tried to frown, and failed, his eye watering as he giggled. “There isn’t  _ **even** _ one on my butt cheek, Snips. I’ve been of age for a couple years.”

Once they stopped laughing, Ahsoka sighed. “So I have years before I even find out if I have a mark.”

“That means you have years to focus on becoming a great Knight...” Anakin put an arm around his Padawan for a one-armed hug. “It might be even longer if your soulmate is younger than you.”

“Guess you’re stuck with me on Saturday nights, Skyguy!” She stuck her tongue out.

That made Anakin grin, even if he found it hard to think that far ahead. Surely the war wouldn’t last  _ that _ long.

* * *

A covert mission went south quickly. The CIS had an intelligence base hidden under the granite of the rocks surrounding a canyon that only  _ seemed _ half a continent long. The valley and summits had emplacements for this long section, so there had to be something to defend.

This stretch felt like the hot zone to Obi-Wan, so they were climbing down while Snips led strafing runs to distract the control droids from the rock face.

Obi-Wan insisted on going down first as he was lighter and better at free-fall.

That resulted in an argument that had their Commanders hiding grins. Finally, his old Master pulled rank and hooked a safety rope to his belt, his leather half-gloves he’d worn since early in the war covered by sturdier gauntlets borrowed from a Vod.

Anakin stayed at the edge of the drop, to either help or watch for attackers.

Obi-Wan had moved past the first outcropping, sweating as he moved from handhold to handhold and dust of many hues clung to his skin, feeling for the next supports. Foul language seeped through their bond when a hold point fractured after a moment.

Anakin was not happy that he could only see a bit of Obi-Wan and not the rock face past the overhang. He really wanted to pace, but more than that he  _ needed _ to be there to do something if there was a problem. There was  _ always _ a problem, with his Master.

He liked to joke that Obi-Wan went looking for trouble, but really his Master was maddeningly careful sometimes, more like some old man than a younger Master. Maybe the Dark Side had it out for him... 

And that  _ was _ the stuff of nightmares.

Anakin felt a surge of panic before he even heard rock crack and the rumble of falling stones. Lunging partway over the edge, he screamed, “Master!”

Someone, or several Vode dropped on Anakin’s legs to anchor him, leaving his upper chest and arms hanging over the drop with a clearer view. 

Obi-Wan had dropped dozens of feet into a cloud of rock dust and rubble. For a moment an updraft blew dust upward concealing everything but his wide eyes.

Anakin’s eyes watered from the cloud and in that instant he’d felt fear, affection, and farewell.  _ **-No!-** _

But Obi-Wan grabbed purchase with fingers, boot tips scrambling for toeholds. The rope had frayed and parted from the harder rock of the overhang.

The floor of the canyon was too, too far for Anakin to focus on. The next strata down was too far as well.

He watched his old Master close his eyes and take a breath, clothing himself in approved serenity again. But Anakin’s heart refused to slow when Obi-Wan’s eyes opened with a faint smile.

“I’m okay at the moment, Anakin. I seem to have lost my belaying rope and one gauntlet. I will not be able to attach a new one without a free hand.” He projected his voice to carry up to the lip of the canyon.

Anakin wanted to curse, rockfall or shouting would wake-

Blaster fire started ringing along along the canyon. They had not tracked Obi-Wan… yet.

“Rex,” he snarled. “Get me ropes and ready a squad of… ten. Enough to hold or haul both of us back up in a hurry.

_ -No.- _ Obi-Wan felt of a very sharp unhappiness.  _ -Hold.- _

With the sound of blasters echoing, Obi-Wan started sliding down, hugging the sheer rock with a cloud of dust blowing up around him and blasters getting closer. He seemed to slide faster and faster. 

Anakin reached out with his prosthetic hand, impossibly wanting to grab his arm. 

Anakin wanted to shout his denial, but helping target Obi-Wan was not allowed.

He could only watch his determined best friend slide away… helpless.

The dust cloud thickened with little noise from Obi-Wan, no more than a natural rock fall.

Then Anakin felt and heard a thump of a heavy weight landing on rock, and a grunt floated up. Before the cloud cleared, he felt relief that glossed over pain. 

_ -I’m on the ridge. About a dozen meters away upstream is the concealed entrance. If you get me another rope, it would be simpler to clamber over than make another climb.- _

Anakin could breathe again. “He’s secure again for now and found the entrance. I think I want to kill him first.”

Amusement floated up and from Rex as the squad lined up.

The rest went smoother, the entrance had a solid base and Obi-Wan had disabled the defenses before Anakin was lowered to join him. Blaster shots barely missed him as he was lowered and the rope was hit at the same time as his feet touched down. Before slicing the door, he gripped Obi-Wan in a desperate hug only a bit harder than he was held.

Watching his Master die would break him too.

While the Knight worked on the entrance he heard muttering from Obi-Wan and armor pieces hit the ground to be kicked aside. “That badly damaged?”

“Yes, unsalvageable, I’m afraid. Friction and repeated rock impacts were not really in their specs. Even my leather glove was shredded.”

Anakin paused to look at Obi-Wan, feeling the regret. “You don’t really have to wear them all the time now for me. I’m used to my prosthetic.” He turned back to the electronics. “It’s not always bad, my fingernails never bend over backwards when I grip something wrong.”

Obi-Wan snorted. “Gloves help with that too. I think I just bent them all backwards on that drop.”

The doorway open with a quiet beep. Standing upright again, the Knight stepped in first. He didn’t feel any immediate danger see anything moving. Reaching for his emergency aid kit he pushed his stubborn Master against the doorway. “Now, show me your hand.”

“No, we don’t...”

“Yes we do, and you’re wasting the safety window arguing against first aid, you stoopa.”

The Master glared at him and then showed Anakin his palm. His fingertips we re bloody, having dripped and smeared all over. The base of his palm had gouged lacerations where the armor and glove had been torn away. Dirt and blood and tiny bits of flesh clung to a mostly intact hand.

Anakin turned the hand to get a look at Obi-Wan’s fingertips before his hand stiffened to resist.

Then he saw a bright, if dirty, pattern over the back of the hand, detailed but not null in the force like tattoos.

“Obi-Wan?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never seen anyone with the like.” Obi-Wan’s voice was flat and resigned,

“I thought they were all things like flowers or beasts...”

“I thought so too. I suspect the Force is having a joke with me. It seem nearly everyone wears gloves of some kind these days. A neck or face would make this so much simpler to find…” Obi-Wan grumbled without saying much.

Anakin just looked at it, liking the shades of blue and grey among the cream of Obi-Wan’s skin. Sections or objects had the auburn of his hair and one looked almost… like…

He almost stopped breathing and  _ looked _ at Obi-Wan.

The older Jedi looked back, his eyes widening as he started to shake his head.

One breath.

Two breaths…

And Anakin pulled the hand against him, lunging forward for the kiss he’d wondered about for so  _ many _ years.

Off-center, noses smashing, Obi-Wan puffed out air with the impact as his lips softened. Anakin breathed, a fire spreading out like a current. He needed to taste and feel and get closer to a wholeness just out of reach, right now in a combat zone.

It wasn’t just sex or even their already deep bond but  _ everything. _

Breaths slowing, Anakin saw that Obi-Wan had an impressive hickey and swollen lips. “How long did you know?”

His soulmate’s face fell. “I had only supposition with the timing. And you were off with your secret marriage. There didn’t seem a point if you were happy.”

Anakin’s blood drained and knees wobbled as he clung to Obi-Wan. “Oh, Force, Padmé… I love her so much, but.”

Obi-Wan held him tight, feeling so much warmer than before. “I can get new gloves and we can resume as friends and colleagues. The Force is not cruel with its invitations.”

Snuffling, Anakin held on. “No…Can’t go back. I need to visit her, explain, see what she wants. I’d hoped for forever with her and having a family. But how much more of a sign do I need? A circuit board, a droid’s eye… and you, Like cracks filling in making me feel more solid. In the here and now if that makes any sense, Master.”

Soft amusement rippled back. “More than a little, dear one. But one, I would really appreciate if you would stop calling me that outside formal situations.”

Enjoying the embarrassment, Anakin grinned, ducking his head lower to try to meet Obi-Wan’s gaze. “What, you don’t want anyone to think you caught me in your kinky web,  _ **Master?”** _

That got him a glare and a push away with little true ire. “two: we still have a mission to finish, General...”

Anakin scanned the quiet chamber for traps and droids, grinning enough that his cheeks hurt.

“And Ani, you don’t know _anything_ about _my kinky webs.”_ Obi-Wan’s voice was a deep velvet that wasn’t close at all to his usual charm for diplomats.

* * *

Obi-Wan had offered to come with him to see Padmé, but Anakin figured she deserved the privacy.

It was hard, and they’d wept together once he convinced her about the soul bond.

“I’m going to miss you, Ani… Anakin. Did I ever tell you that my parents consulted the Goddesses’ oracle when I came of age after I stepped down as Queen. They told me I would find happiness with a tall Jedi. We were happy, too, weren’t we? You were so tall and kind of goofy. My hero… I wanted that.”

“Let me know when, and I’ll bring Jedi to meet you. You deserve the best. But I’m _keeping_ Obi-Wan,”

**Author's Note:**

> Characters and setting are the property of George Lucas and Disney. No profits are made from it and no infringement is intended.
> 
> – And to dot the ‘i’s and cross the ‘t’s, Ahsoka will be much taller by the time she comes of age...
> 
> It's NaNo time, so releases will be scant until I recover or New Year's, whichever comes first. Chronic insomnia after makes one a wreck moving into December holidays...


End file.
